Why I choose plastic hives and frames for keeping bees
I sometimes ask myself the same thing when crouched over cleaning some boxes.
For me, the argument for giving bees well-insulated, dry homes triumphs over the sentiment that feral bees live in wooden cavities, so they should live in wooden hives even if the hives are damp, draughty, and uninsulated. Don’t get me wrong; bees do well in uninsulated hives once they’ve survived the winter. The walls protect the colony against rain, wind, and predators. Any modern hive is different from a tree cavity.
An old plastic frame with a press on queen introduction cage. It doesn’t look pretty.
A bee on Alkanet
When researching hives in 2013, I came across @beekeeperDevon YouTube, and he seemed very sensible; I was hooked. I liked how the plastic edges protect the walls. Plastic frames sounded like a good idea for seeing eggs. Langstroth deep boxes are heavy, hence, medium frames, which are 160 mm high. Paradise hives weren’t made as Nationals back then. I wanted the best, and did not consider our environment.
It’s not been easy; with careful waxing, bees don’t always draw plastic frames in advance of them being needed. Polyhives take time to clean.